How to Follow a Low-Carb Vegan Meal Plan: 1,200 Calories

By: Alexandra Caspero, M.A., R.D.

This vegan take on a low-carb diet can help you meet your health and weight-loss goals in a healthy way, without missing out on important nutrients.

With the explosion in popularity of low-carb diets for weight loss, like the ketogenic diet and Atkins diet, you may be thinking that no-carb is better than low-carb. However, research suggests that a moderate carbohydrate intake is more effective in helping you meet your weight-loss goals. In fact, eating too few carbohydrates can actually make weight loss harder because you miss out on key nutrients, like fiber from whole grains and legumes, that help you to feel full and satisfied on fewer calories. If you already follow a vegan diet, going low-carb means you'll be reducing the good-for-you carbs—like whole grains, beans, starchy vegetables and fruits—that provide important nutrients in place of animal products (namely protein). To make sure you get the nutrients you need, we tailored this low-carb vegan meal plan to be lower in carbs (around 100 to 125 grams per day) but not as low as very-low-carb diets, which recommend you stay below 100 grams of carbs per day. Each day is fueled by healthy whole foods, including moderate amounts of complex carbs (like whole-grain muesli, sweet potatoes and berries), with daily protein and fiber totals ringing in at 50 grams and 30 grams per day, to help you feel satisfied while cutting carbs and calories.

How to Meal-Prep Your Week of Low-Carb Vegan Meals:

1. Make the Smoothie Freezer Packs ahead of time and stash them in your freezer until ready to use on Days 1, 2 and 7. The recipe makes 5 servings total, so save the remaining two smoothie packs for another week.